My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

"By the way, what are we having for dinner?"

Seeing Chen Mo enter the supermarket, Li Shimin then remembered to ask.

"What do you want to eat?"

Chen Mo glanced at the crowd and pondered for a moment.

"There are so many people, how about we have hot pot?"

"hot pot?"

Li Shimin frowned.

"What's so good about that stuff? It's just boiled in a pot, isn't it?"

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head.

You'll find out later.

After saying that, Chen Mo pulled over a shopping cart.

Little Sizi stared at the car, his eyes shining.

"The rhinoceros wants to sit! The rhinoceros wants to sit inside!"

After saying that, he looked at Chen Mo with excitement.

Chen Mo smiled slightly and lifted Xiao Sizi into the child seat in the shopping cart.

Little Sizi sat in her own car, waving her little hands happily and giving directions.

"Little cyst! Let's go over there! It's cool there!"

Chen Mo nodded and walked towards the fresh produce section.

As soon as they got there, Little Sizi immediately raised her little hand to cover her nose and frowned.

Her whole face was filled with disgust, and she dragged out the words in a childish voice.

"Ugh—it stinks! Forget it! Let's go! It smells so fishy!"

After saying that, she shook her little hand vigorously with a look of disgust.

Chen Mo smiled.

"Don't be in such a hurry, you little glutton."

He bent down and pointed to the packaged ingredients in the refrigerator.

"Let's buy some good stuff first. We'll cook it in a pot later, and it'll smell delicious. I guarantee it'll make your mouth water even more than the candy you just ate."

"Really?"

"real."

"I want one too!"

Little Sizi got excited as soon as she heard about food and kept clamoring to help Chen Mo get it.

So, I put several boxes of shrimp paste and several large boxes of red and white beef and mutton rolls into the shopping cart.

Li Shimin looked at the cow pattern on the meat and hesitated.

"Chen Mo, this...this picture shows beef?"

Li Shimin paused.

"Do you oxen of later generations... sometimes get so depressed that you run into walls and die?!"

The Tang Dynasty did not allow the slaughter of oxen for plowing purposes; they were only permitted to eat them if they died naturally or "accidentally."

Every cow was registered with the government.

Of course, as I said before, if you want to eat it, you can still eat it.

For example, in the household of a certain duke, cows would often accidentally run over and die...

Little Sizi, however, knew not so much, and blinked her curious big eyes after hearing it.

"Dad, why is Niu Niu banging its head against the wall? Doesn't it hurt?"

Chen Mo patted the little ox's head and answered Li Shimin.

"These are cattle raised specifically for meat, called beef cattle, just like raising pigs and sheep. They are completely different from cattle used for plowing."

"And now we use machines for most of our farming, instead of oxen."

"As I said before, technological advancements have led to machines replacing oxen and horses."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin pondered for a moment before turning his gaze to the shopping cart.

"In that case! A few boxes aren't enough! Take a few more! Yes! Take the ones with the prettiest patterns, take as many as you can!!"

Then, Chen Mo acted as a guide while making the purchases.

"This is shrimp paste. Use this spoon to put it into the pot..."

"This is tripe. When cooking it, you need to dip it seven times up and eight times down..."

"The tofu skin and dried bean curd sticks soak up the broth, they're delicious..."

"You absolutely must have this sesame oil and minced garlic dipping sauce with your hot pot; it helps to cut through the spiciness and enhances the flavor..."

Little Sizi sat in the shopping cart, taking each item one by one and then arranging them in the cart.

As the shopping cart gradually filled up, Xiao Sizi grinned from ear to ear.

Soon, the ingredients were almost all bought.

Chen Mo drove everyone back to the hotel, moved the table to the courtyard, set up an induction cooker, and opened the hot pot base packet.

"Brother Biao, you and Fusu help wash the vegetables."

"Changle, you and Sizi go inside and get the bowls and chopsticks. It's that room."

"And what about me?"

Seeing that everyone else had something to do, Li Shimin pointed to himself and asked.

"You? You just need to eat!"

Chen Mo plugged in the induction cooker and turned it on.

Before long, the hot pot started to boil vigorously.

A rich aroma filled the entire courtyard.

Li Shimin swallowed hard, his face filled with disbelief.

"What did you put in there? Why does it suddenly smell so good?"

Chen Mo chuckled.

"That's called technology and ruthless skill."

Soon, Zhu Biao and Fu Su had finished washing the vegetables and preparing the bowls and chopsticks.

Hot pot isn't too complicated; the main focus is on a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

The washed vegetables were put in.

"Small cysts! Can we eat them now?"

Little Sizi stared at the steaming pot, his mouth watering uncontrollably.

Chen Mo nodded.

So, Xiao Sizi used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish tofu.

But no matter how she tried to pick it up, she couldn't, and her little mouth pouted, feeling somewhat discouraged.

Seeing this, Li Lizhi was about to help her when Chen Mo pulled her into his arms first.

"Come here, Sizi, let your brother help you."

After saying that, Chen Mo rolled up the sleeves of Xiao Sizi's newly bought clothes, revealing her fair and tender little arms.

Then, using the serving chopsticks, she picked up a quail egg and a piece of shrimp paste, and placed them together in the small bowl in front of her.

"Try this first, it's not too hot now, eat it carefully."

Little Sizi immediately grabbed the shrimp paste with his hands, stuffed it into his mouth with a loud gulp, and ate until his cheeks were bulging, like a satisfied little hamster.

But she ate too quickly, and some sauce and oil got on the corners of her mouth.

Chen Mo found it amusing, so he casually pulled out a tissue and gently wiped her mouth, his tone exceptionally gentle.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

The little ox felt a little itchy from being rubbed and giggled.

Instead of dodging, she raised her little face to cooperate with him, and said something indistinctly.

"Delicious!"

Li Lizhi couldn't help but laugh when she saw this scene.

Looking at Chen Mo and Xiao Sizi, his gaze softened even more.

She picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a beef ball on Chen Mo's plate—the one he seemed to have glanced at a few times earlier—and said softly.

"Manager Chen, you should eat too. Don't just focus on taking care of Sizi."

This scene was witnessed by Li Shimin, who had just finished devouring a large piece of beef and looked up.

Li Shimin: ? ? ?

No?

I just want to have a meal.

How come your relationship seems to have taken a step further?

Something's not right, is it?

Chen Mo was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and thanked him.

"Thank you, Princess."

Li Lizhi smiled.

"Just call me Lizhi."

Little Sizi followed suit, using her own little spoon to painstakingly scoop a small ear of corn from the bowl and shakily offer it to Chen Mo's lips.

"They even eat small fungi! My sister said we should share! Come on!"

Chen Mo looked at the half-eaten corn kernel in the spoon, still covered in her saliva.

Then I looked at Little Sizi, whose eyes were bright and full of expectation.

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head, but still accepted it.

"Thank you, Sizi, it's so sweet."

Li Shimin: ? ? ?